Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation

The statement of teaching philosophy (STP) is the foundation of any teaching dossier, is often requested as part of an academic job application, and is an important part of the tenure and promotion process. This short statement needs to effectively communicate your ideas, beliefs, and values about teaching in a condensed space. In writing your […]

Active learning is when “students make information or concepts their own by connecting them to existing knowledge and experience… examine, question, and relate new ideas to old, thereby achieving the kind of deep learning that lasts” (Barkley, 2010). Research suggests that, when engaged in an active learning environment, students are able to retain information longer […]

Wondering about the accommodation process, and accessibility services supports at U of T? In this webinar, we will provide an introduction to Accessibility Services and the accommodation process at the University of Toronto. Join us for a conversation about roles and responsibilities of students, Accessibility Advisors, TAs and course instructors as well as services offered […]

With increasing diverse student populations in the classrooms, it is critical that we engage and reflect on our intercultural development journey to build a safe and inclusive learning environment. By participating in this workshop, participants will:  • Explore intercultural communication models;   • Recognize how different cultural mindsets influence the way people interact with each other […]

Across disciplines, grading can be a challenging practice for TAs that requires significant time and interpretation.  This workshop will position grading as a valuable teaching strategy and introduce techniques for efficient and effective grading. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: understand the purpose and importance of grading in teaching and […]

As graduate students, we might understand the importance of transferrable skills to our own career development but what about in our teaching? TAs and course instructors can develop their transferrable skills not only through research and networking opportunities but also in the classroom by drawing connections between discipline-specific skill building and future career development. Therefore, […]

Landing a faculty position is the aspiration of many senior doctoral students, and the process of applying for and landing such positions is difficult and in many ways mysterious. While innovative research and a solid dissertation are vital to being competitive for academic positions, being able to represent yourself well in academic interviews is also […]

Over the lastcouple of decades, the pressure to improve the quality of teaching has beentransforming Higher Education in North America. One of the key initiatives hasbeen the emergence of individuals holding a full-time appointment focused onteaching. Indeed, teaching-stream faculty (TSF) – professors whose mainresponsibilities are teaching and teaching-focused research (i.e., Scholarshipof Teaching and Learning) – […]

Intercultural communication skills related to teaching and collaboration are often encouraged to directly address the needs of international students, a significant and growing population at the university. Yet many EAL (English as an additional language user) students have highlighted added challenges and concerns around their participation using virtual platforms during the pandemic, resulting in feelings […]